TUFTS UNIVERSITY: MEASURABLE BRAIN LOSS IN YOUR 40s

British researchers report that a 3.6% cognitive decline is evident as early as ages 45-49. The scientists analyzed data on 5,198 men and 1,129 women who underwent cognitive testing three times at five-year intervals. Participants in the long-running Whitehall II cohort study showed impaired reasoning ability in progressive years of testing.

That the brain may start to lose function in the mid-40s rather than only after age 60 as commonly thought means “aggressive control of behavioral and cardiovascular risk factors as early as possible” is key, researchers concluded, citing the “emerging consensus that ’what is good for our hearts is also good for our heads.’”